It’s kind of perfect that a white woman steals the words of a black woman in the city that invented Rock & Roll

As we all know by now, Melania Trump paid the ultimate tribute to Michelle Obama by plagiarizing her 2008 convention speech. You’re welcome, Michelle.

But what makes the theft all the more poignant is that it took place in the city of Cleveland, the home of Rock n’Roll, the genre of music that has been defined by white people’s theft of Black people’s work.

A blend of blues, gospel, and Jazz, the music had been written, performed and recorded by Black musicians in the late 40s and early 50s. It was called “black” music, until Cleveland DJ Alan Freed popularized the term “rock n roll.” Appropriately enough, Freed himself took credit as a co-writer of music he had no part in writing, including Chuck Berry’s “Maybelline.”

Other examples of white on black theft include:

1. Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon vs. Led Zeppelin

This is “Whole Lotta Love,” the Led Zeppelin hit of 1969:

And this is “You Need Love,” written by Willie Dixon and performed by Muddy Waters in 1962:

Dixon became aware of the Led Zeppelin song thanks to his daughter Shirley. When she was 13, Shirley heard a song she thought sounded familiar at her friend’s house. She asked her friend if she could borrow the album, and then played the song for her dad, who realized it had borrowed heavily from the lyrics and music of his song. In In 1987, Dixon won an out-of-court settlement over the song. Dixon is now officially credited, along with all four members of Led Zeppelin, and he used the money from the settlement to help support his Blues Heaven Foundation, which helps musicians preserve their royalties and music rights. Dixon died in 1992 but his daughter Shirley maintains the foundation.

2. The Chiffons and Ronald Mack vs. George Harrison

This is George Harrison’s first solo recording and number 1 hit “My Sweet Lord” (of 1970):

And this is “He’s so Fine,” which was written by Ronald Mack and recorded by the Chiffons in 1963:

Oasis wound up removing “Step Out”from its album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, mysteriously enough. It released the song later as a b-side track on the CD single of Don’t Look Back In Anger and it officially credited Wonder as one of the writers. [Insert Wonder Wall joke pun.]

And this is “Got to give it up,” written by Art Stewart and recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1977:

In a move of Hamletian chutzpah, Thicke protested too much and preemptively suedthe family of Marvin Gaye, saying that he did not rip off Gaye’s 1977 hit, thank you very much.

6. Public Enemy vs. Madonna

This is Madonna’s scandalous hit “Justify My Love” (1990):

And this is Public Enemy’s “Security Of The First World” from 1988:

Perhaps because they aren’t exactly strangers to sampling, Public Enemy didn’t sue over the use of their beat. Instead, they allegedly had Young Black Teenagers come out with “To My Donna” in 1991, which used the same beat.

And this is “Joyful Noise,” a 2008 song from Christian rappers Flame and Lecrae Moore:

Flame and Lacrae sued Perry and Capitol Records for stealing riffs from from “Joyful Sound.” Even worse, the suit claimed, the Christian ballad had been “irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic, and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in ‘Dark Horse’.”

8. The Isley Brothers vs. Michael Bolton

This is Michael Bolton hit “Love is a Wonderful Thing” (1991):

This is the song of the same name written by the Isley Brothers in 1964 and released in 1966:

When the Isley Brothers sued Bolton, his co-writer Andrew Goldmark and Sony records for plagiarizing their song of the same name, the defendants were ordered to pay $5.2 million, the largest payment in music history.

About the Author

Born and raised on the mean streets of New York City's Upper West Side, Katie Halper is a comedian, writer and filmmaker. She is the co-host of Morning Jew, writes for places like The Nation, Feministing, Jezebel and appears on places like MSNBC, RT, Sirius radio (which hung up on her once). Katie's had her photo taken with Rudy Giuliani and was called "cute and somewhat brainy" by the National Review.